Seasonal variation, weather and behavior in day-care children: a multilevel approach

Abstract

This study analyzes the effect of weather variables, such as solar radiation, indoor and outdoor air temperature, relative humidity and time spent outdoor, on the behavior of 2-year-old children and their affects across different seasons: winter, spring and summer. Participants were a group of 61 children (33 males and 28 females) attending four day-care centers in Florence (Central Italy). Mean age of children at the beginning of the study was 24.1 months (SD = 3.6). We used multilevel linear analyses to account for the hierarchical structure of our data. The study analyzed the following behavioral variables: Activity Level, Attentional Focusing, Frustration, and Aggression. Results showed a different impact of some weather variables on children's behavior across seasons, indicating that the weather variable that affects children's behavior is usually the one that shows extreme values during the studied seasons, such as air temperature and relative humidity in winter and summer. Studying children and their reactions to weather conditions could have potentially wide-reaching implications for parenting and teaching practices, as well as for researchers studying social relationships development.

Hot playgrounds and children's health: A multiscale analysis of surface temperatures in Arizona, USA

“…These services are of paramount importance in maintaining child health and well-being (Ciucci et al, 2013;Fjørtoft, 2004;Wolch et al, 2011). The solution to reducing playground heat illness and surface burns on extreme heat days is not to prohibit play, but to encourage safe play, invoke awareness, and/or limit play to the morning or evening hours.…”

“…The solution to reducing playground heat illness and surface burns on extreme heat days is not to prohibit play, but to encourage safe play, invoke awareness, and/or limit play to the morning or evening hours. Quality play settings result in increased activity and improved health (e.g., lessen obesity and diabetes) (Barnes, 2011) and social networking (Bessesen, 2008;Sallis, Floyd, Rodríguez, & Saelens, 2012;Wolch et al, 2011), increased cognitive and motor development (Boldemann et al, 2006;Brussoni, Olsen, Pike, & Sleet, 2012;Ciucci et al, 2011Ciucci et al, , 2013Wenner, 2009), and improved behavior (Bessesen, 2008;Ciucci et al, 2013;Lagacé-Séguin & d'Entremont, 2005) and learning (Taylor & Kuo, 2009). Quantifying both the T s-a over various surfaces and the scale offsets of these deltas can produce accurate and vital information for reducing playground T s through bioclimatic design.…”

“…Most cities are not designed to ameliorate the effects of warming, although it is well known that this is possible through evidence-based climate-responsive design of urban spaces (Brown, Vanos, Kenny, & Lenzholzer, 2015;Erell, Pearlmutter, & Williamson, 2012;Masson et al, 2014;Middel, Chhetri, & Quay, 2015). Properly designed playgrounds contribute to microscale cooling, serving as heat refuges through the summer season (Cheng, Wei, Chen, Li, & Song, 2014;Chow, Pope, Martin, & Brazel, 2011;Vanos, Warland, Gillespie, Slater, et al, 2012), as well as comfortable and safe places for children to play and engage in activities for improved health and well-being (Ciucci et al, 2013;Moore & Cosco, 2014;Vanos, 2015;Wolch et al, 2011).…”

Environmental Determinants of Aggression in Adolescents: Role of Urban Neighborhood Greenspace

“…8 Previous studies in urban-dwelling populations have primarily focused on social environmental determinants, but whether and how the physical characteristics of urban environments affect aggressive behaviors are not well understood. In search of modifiable physical environmental factors predictive of aggressive behaviors, we only found scant literature suggesting possible adverse effects of air pollution, 9–11 meteorological factors, 12–16 and neighborhood noise. 17 The beneficial impacts of greenspace 18 have become increasingly recognized by public health advocates, and clinicians have started prescribing exposure to greenspace as a natural treatment for various physical and mental illnesses.…”

Analyzing Personal Happiness from Global Survey and Weather Data: A Geospatial Approach

“…Those factors can be roughly divided into either macro or micro effects. The former include weather effects, such as temperature [ 3 ], sunlight [ 4 , 5 ], seasonal climate change [ 6 ], and the societal socio-economic environment [ 7 ], while the latter include individuals’ demographic factors such as gender [ 8 ], age [ 4 ], and personal health behaviors like smoking [ 9 ], exercise [ 10 ], and eating more fruits and vegetables [ 11 ]. Studies have indicated that several factors simultaneously affect people’s happiness, and the variations occur in different persons, cities, and countries.…”